Harvesting headers such as those utilized on combines have become increasingly large in recent years in order to promote harvesting efficiencies by diminishing the number of passes the operator must make across a field. By increasing the length of such headers, the width of swath taken by the combine as it moves across the field is correspondingly increased. At the same time, however, the increased length of such headers increases the likelihood that the ground contour adjacent one end of the header will not be the same as that at the opposite end. Moreover, the wheels on one side of the tractor of the combine may run in a furrow while the wheels on the opposite side may run along a ridge, for example. If the header cannot be tilted transversely about a fore-and-aft axis under such circumstances, one lateral end of the header will be dropped down while the opposite lateral end will be raised up as the tractor tilts down on one side.
This type of action can be particularly unacceptable where a crop such as soybeans is being harvested since, in that circumstance, the plants must be severed virtually directly at ground level in order to be assured that a maximum harvesting of the ground-level bean pods is obtained. As is apparent, if one end of the header is raised up because the opposite side of the combine is traveling in a furrow, many beans will be missed at the raised end because the plants will simply be severed too high off the ground.
Various so-called "sidehill combines" are presently available on the market in which the headers can be tilted relative to the throat portions of the machines. However, to be best of my knowledge, all of such sidehill machines are arranged so that the header swings about a pivot that is located along the top of the throat as opposed to the bottom thereof as in the present invention. Moreover, to my knowledge there is no present arrangement for converting machines with non-tilting headers into tilting header machines according to the concepts of the present invention.